The Trump Administration has ordered federal agencies to use a “social cost of carbon” that only takes into account domestic consequences of climate change, writes Meredith Fowlie, Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. That translates into a cost of $1-$6 per ton, instead of the $45 per ton that was under the Obama Administration. Fowlie explains the reasoning behind the policy … [Read more...]
Wind, solar costs continue to fall and fossil fuels can’t stop them
The latest update for energy technology costs put together by global investment bank Lazard has been released and shows a growing advantage for wind and solar technologies over fossil fuels such as coal, gas and nuclear, writes Giles Parkinson of Reneweconomy.com. Original post. … [Read more...]
Is the Paris climate deal legally binding or not?
“Like hell it’s non-binding,” Donald Trump has said of the 2015 UN deal to cut carbon pollution. Is he right, ask Timmons Roberts and Angelica Arellano? The answer is not black or white. Article courtesy Climate Home News. … [Read more...]
Five things that should happen at the Bonn climate talks but probably won’t
If the Paris agreement is to be anything other than a farce, there are five things that should happen at the climate convention that has just started in Bonn, write Matthew Paterson and Marc Hudson of the University of Manchester. Chances are, however, that they won’t. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
How Romania can become a key player in the European gas market
Romania has the third largest natural gas reserves within the European Union (EU) and new reserves are still being discovered. With domestic gas production within the EU declining, the country could play an important role in the regional market. But for this to happen, interconnections need to be expanded and the liberalization of the market needs to be completed, write Ramona Visenescu and Henry Bartelet of the independent international think … [Read more...]
Value-added electricity services: who should supply them and how?
Berkeley Lab has released a new report that discusses who should supply the new value-added services that are emerging in the electricity market - and what policies and regulations are needed to nurture this new market. The report applies to the U.S., but includes lots of lessons for Europe as well.  … [Read more...]
US shale oil: the limits to growth
With technological progress slowing down and financiers becoming more reluctant to invest, estimates of future US shale oil production are becoming more conservative, writes geophysicist Jilles van den Beukel. By the early 2020s, the ability of US shale oil to provide a ceiling on oil prices will be significantly diminished. … [Read more...]
World greenhouse gas levels make unprecedented leap
Global average carbon dioxide concentrations rose by 0.8% during 2016, the largest annual increase ever observed, write researchers Paul Fraser, Paul Krummel and Zoe Loh of Australia’s national science agency CSIRO. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
Shell, BP climate disclosures ‘just a marketing tool’, says ShareAction
Two years after BP and Shell shareholders resoundingly passed resolutions requiring the oil majors to factor climate change risks into their corporate strategy and accounting, the two companies are disclosing no more than bare minimum, a new report from a U.K.-based NGO has found. Article by Kyla Mandel of DeSmog. … [Read more...]
How blockchain is transforming the energy industry
Blockchain technology offers cost-saving and process efficiencies for the energy sector that are too compelling to ignore, write Luis Colasante and Taniga Krish for Oilprice.com. But it does require a clear framework where all participants agree on the standards and rules. … [Read more...]
German utilities are struggling with digitalization, especially in retail
German utilities claim that they are becoming consumer-centred, service-based organisations, but research from Oliver Wyman shows that in actual fact their market share in the digitalized retail market is very small, writes energy economist Marius Buchmann of Jacobs University in Bremen. But they may still deliver on their promise: they are ready to launch digital attackers. Article courtesy of Buchmann’s blog Enerquire. … [Read more...]
A solar transportation system?
Are solar-powered cars the future? According to David Hone, Chief Climate Change Advisor at Shell, solar augmentation, for example in the form of solar roofs, may become widespread by 2030. By 2050 a vehicle fleet requiring little to no net energy becomes a real possibility. Courtesy David Hone's Shell Climate Change blog. … [Read more...]
The uncertain future of fusion energy
With costs of solar and wind power dropping, investors may start to wonder whether putting money into fusion energy still makes sense. Independent energy consultant Daniel Kauffman discusses the uncertain future of fusion energy, in particular of the ITER project in France, but concludes that "putting more chips on the fusion table seems like a sensible hedge". … [Read more...]
Experts who sold the idea of oil exports proven very wrong very fast
Oil market experts all claimed that lifting the ban U.S. oil exports would not result in very large exports. They all turned out to be wrong very quickly, writes Justin Mikulka on DeSmog blog. American oil is even going to China these days. With devastating consequences for the environment and the climate. … [Read more...]
Want energy storage? Here are 22,000 sites for pumped hydro across Australia
Three researchers from Australian National University have conducted a study into the possibility for new pumped hydro storage capacity in Australia – with remarkable results. They have identified more than enough sites to provide all the energy storage Australia needs for an energy system based on renewables. Courtesy The Conversation. … [Read more...]
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